1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to musical instruments in general and to bass drums in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drummers today must use two bass drums in order to obtain a so-called "double beat". However, when using two such drums, it is necessary for the drummer to lock down a complementary cymbal, thus losing the so-called "high hat" effect.
Various attempts have been made in the past to obtain a double beat without the use of a second drum and without losing the high hat effect obtained with the cymbal. However, the devices developed by these earlier attempts have operated with undesirable mechanical noises that have rendered the previous inventions somewhat unsatisfactory. Consequently, such prior art devices have met with little, if any, commercial success. Examples of such prior art devices are disclosed in the following: U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,302 issued to Laverents on Oct. 11, 1949; U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,441 issued to Fearns on Nov. 9, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,128 issued to Simpson on July 18, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,957 issued to Escamilla on Nov. 2, 1976; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,853 issued to Bills on Feb. 19, 1980.
Laverents shows a double action bass drum pedal using a rigid foot pedal connected through a linkage to a pair of beaters which use either a linkage arrangement, as shown in FIG. 3, or a gear arrangement, as shown in FIG. 4. One beater is operated to strike the drum by depressing the heel while the other beater is operated to strike the drum when pressing with the toe.
Fearn's development is directed to a double acting drum pedal with a single beater that may be operated by the up and down motion of the pedal.
Simpson's device pertains to a bass drum pedal assembly with a pair of drums being arranged face to face and having a split pedal that allows either a simultaneous or an alternating beat.
Escamilla's invention relates to a drum pedal assembly in which the foot pedal is made up of two halves mounted at a pivot. The front portion is moved by the toe of the operator while the back portion is operated by the drummer's heel.
Most recently, Bills discloses a multiple purpose double acting drum pedal having two beaters with a mechanism to either engage or disengage such beaters.
Despite those different approaches, it remains a problem for drummers to obtain a smooth and noiseless double beat without the use of a second drum and without losing the high hat effect obtained with the attached cymbal.